I am writing this as I watch the funeral processions of ATS chief Hemant Karkare and Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan. Minutes ago, I watched the heartrending last moments that Major Unnikrishnan’s mother spent with his body, an inconsolable yet proud mother whose images will stay with me for the rest of my life. Yet, many other heroes of the last few days will not have funeral processions, their names will not be known, the grief of their parents and relatives and friends will never be known. I talk about the staff members of the Taj Mahal Hotel.

Many of them died in the terrorist attack, many have survived through the siege, but all eyewitness accounts vouch for their commitment and courage. There was a news report in The Indian Express about how, after the attack began, a steward, identified only as Rajan, was escorting a group of guests to safety when a terrorist appeared in front of them. He stepped forward and shielded the guests and took the bullets on his body. Through the night the guests whose lives he had saved tended to him. It is not known whether he is alive.

As soon as I heard of the attacks on the Taj, I called up a senior executive of the group who is a close friend of mine, as much of a younger brother as I will ever have. He was calm. “We have very laid-down processes to deal with a terrorist attack,” he said. “Every employee of the Taj knows what to do. But we are worried about the Oberoi. They may not have such institutionalised procedures.”

... contd.